Clean oil on a diesel!

[Bobupndown]

Years ago I had a Peugeot 405 diesel estate, I swear that the oil turned black as I was pouring it in.
Wonderful old bus though.

They have to be one of the best workhorses ever made and comfy to boot. I had one I paid £80 for, a weekend of welding the front inner wings and I ran it for 5 years/ 50k miles on recycled chip fat. Huge load space, really comfy, no silly dual mass flywheel issues, 50+mpg without issue, plenty of poke for motorway/ load lugging and zero cosmetic rust issues (really heavy almost galv like zinc rich etch coat on all panels). The alternator died once and I just drove it home with no electrics. I'd happily have another but hard to find now and they do rust structurally in a relatively minor way. Sometimes the boot floor and rear chassis can get quite crispy but with some rust proofing they could last most of a lifetime.

I had 3 405s, 1 n/a and 2 turbo diesels all fantastic cars. Really think those simple 90s diesels were peak car production. OK Greta would have a fit due to their emissions but other than that they are still great.

My last one was the same as this in beautiful Diablo red with full black leather interior and the 306 Dturbo wheels. Wish I still had it. If I came across a clean low miler id be seriously tempted to buy to keep as a modern classic.

 

[Ubique]

Drill a tiny hole thru the dipstick at the full mark

Drill a tiny hole at the 75% mark, engines should (generally) never be 'full' of oil when serviced, when hot, the thermal expansion will take it into 'overfull' territory, as many BMW, M-B & VWG vehicle owner will attest to...
Engine design has a lot to do with how 'dirty' the oil looks after being run due to the amount of oil retained in the oilways, valve lifters etc.

 

[nickk]

If the oil’s dirty,it must be carrying the dirt around in circulation,as in suspended and therefore not trapping it in the filter.

 

[Erie Fred]

Drill a tiny hole at the 75% mark, engines should (generally) never be 'full' of oil when serviced, when hot, the thermal expansion will take it into 'overfull' territory, as many BMW, M-B & VWG vehicle owner will attest to...
Engine design has a lot to do with how 'dirty' the oil looks after being run due to the amount of oil retained in the oilways, valve lifters etc.

At the Full mark, just like it says in the owners manual, on where it should appear on the stick.

Don't overcomplicate things.

 

[Ubique]

At the Full mark, just like it says in the owners manual, on where it should appear on the stick.

Don't overcomplicate things.

It's not overcomplicating, it's simple - don't overfill. 75% is the stipulation in the workshop instructions for all the manufacturers I've worked for, therefore that is the correct fill level.

 

[Erie Fred]

It's not overcomplicating, it's simple - don't overfill. 75% is the stipulation in the workshop instructions for all the manufacturers I've worked for, therefore that is the correct fill level.

How are you figuring 75% ?
Total length of the dipstick ?

 

[Ubique]

75% between the min & max marks on the dipstick with min being 0% and max being 100%
Most engines need 1.0l to fill from min to max so the difference between the specified cold fill and the maximum level is going to be ~250ml. There is no benefit in filling your engine to the absolute maximum.

A little recollection from when I worked at an Audi dealership....
There was / is a problem with certain diesel engines having excessive oil consumption, the documented procedure is to drain & refill the engine oil then drive a number of miles, drain & measure the quantity of oil remaining. The quantity measured determines if the engine is replaced or not.
We had a 'repeat complaint' of excessive oil consumption on one particular car, now this guy did not trust the ultrasonic oil level measurement fitted as standard, so had got himself a dipstick to use in the 'service oil level port', he'd noticed the level was falling from 100% to 50% (but no further) over the space of a week to ten days, hence his repeated appearance at the service desk. Despite several - I think five - assessments, no excessive drop in oil level was found. On the last visit, this guy lost his ****, pulled out the dipstick to demonstrate the evidence, which was checked - to find that the dipstick he'd used was too short for the engine and he's been dutifully overfilling (to 100% of the dipstick mark), in turn, the engine had been dutifully burning the excess oil that was splashing around the piston skirts. IIRC, he was overfilling by 2.25l

 

[charlysays]

I agree, fabulous car. Only issue on them was that you had to regularly refurbish the rear axle. If you caught it in time it was new bearings and seals, if you leave it too late it was new expensive shafts too.
It was a pig of a job to do so many left it too late.

I had its offspring, a 406 estate and easily the best car I ever owned. Very reliable and a great boot space.

Yes that rear axle was still in use on much newer cars! I never had an issue with mine and it had 300k on it when I retired it. I'm surprised noone worked out a way to fit grease nipples, that would be the way. I think I drilled a hole in the tube on mine and pumped oil in there, dunno if it did any good but it never wore out!

 

[Turbo]

Yes that rear axle was still in use on much newer cars! I never had an issue with mine and it had 300k on it when I retired it. I'm surprised noone worked out a way to fit grease nipples, that would be the way. I think I drilled a hole in the tube on mine and pumped oil in there, dunno if it did any good but it never wore out!

Some of the decent refurbishers here fit grease nipples and it does help but it was a poor design as regards service life.
Same axle design was used on the 106, 205, 306, 309 and a few Citroens too.
I've rebuilt a couple of 205 axles and it's a pig of a job. You need to use the genuine pug bearings because the spurious ones are poor quality with less rollers.

 

[Agrismith]

75% between the min & max marks on the dipstick with min being 0% and max being 100%
Most engines need 1.0l to fill from min to max so the difference between the specified cold fill and the maximum level is going to be ~250ml. There is no benefit in filling your engine to the absolute maximum.

A little recollection from when I worked at an Audi dealership....
There was / is a problem with certain diesel engines having excessive oil consumption, the documented procedure is to drain & refill the engine oil then drive a number of miles, drain & measure the quantity of oil remaining. The quantity measured determines if the engine is replaced or not.
We had a 'repeat complaint' of excessive oil consumption on one particular car, now this guy did not trust the ultrasonic oil level measurement fitted as standard, so had got himself a dipstick to use in the 'service oil level port', he'd noticed the level was falling from 100% to 50% (but no further) over the space of a week to ten days, hence his repeated appearance at the service desk. Despite several - I think five - assessments, no excessive drop in oil level was found. On the last visit, this guy lost his ****, pulled out the dipstick to demonstrate the evidence, which was checked - to find that the dipstick he'd used was too short for the engine and he's been dutifully overfilling (to 100% of the dipstick mark), in turn, the engine had been dutifully burning the excess oil that was splashing around the piston skirts. IIRC, he was overfilling by 2.25l

I've worked on a few engines. Machinery and tractor related that have 2 high level marks. One marked standard and the other marked something to the effect of high load, or incline working depending on the brand.

 

[roofman]

Ive started using Morris oils in my vans 10/40 fully. They sound so much smoother and less clackety. Can buy it around here via 25L drums for £85 including VAT.

 

[dobbslc]

Are they originally meant to have semi synthetic in them? Does the fully synthetic make that much difference?
I was thinking of getting 25L drums of Morris 10w40 for the Surf.

 

[roofman]

Are they originally meant to have semi synthetic in them? Does the fully synthetic make that much difference?
I was thinking of getting 25L drums of Morris 10w40 for the Surf.

For my vans (vivaro) they reckon 10/30 but they seem clackerty on it so i feed them 10/40..As far as full or semi is concerned i have never had any issues running either.

 

[dobbslc]

Thanks, the Surf is already on 10w40 so I'll probably stick with that.